On July 11, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit threw virtually all interested a parties a curve ball by vacating and remanding EPA’s Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). CAIR had been relied upon by states as an integral component of their strategies to attain ambient air quality standards. Companies had made significant investments in reliance upon the rule. And many environmentalists supported the trading regime meant to clean up air pollution in downwind states from upwind sources.
Several strategies have been proposed to deal with the aftermath of the CAIR vacatur, including legislative and judicial fixes. What is the effect of the CAIR vacatur across federal and state air programs? What responses are likely to help counteract these effects? What actions can we expect in the near and longer term to cope after this turn of events?
Our distinguished panel of speakers discussed these issues.
Panelists:
S. William Becker, Executive Director, National Association of Clean Air Agencies
William Bumpers, Partner, Baker Botts LLP
Jeffrey Holmstead, Partner, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP
Brian McLean, Director, Office of Atmospheric Programs, U.S. EPA
Blakeman Early, American Lung Assn
Downloads:
Brian McLean PowerPoint
Cair Legislative Fix Analysis